Tokyo, Japan

You can’t make a definitive guide for Tokyo.

There’s just…too much. Of everything. The food is endless, the second-hand clothes are insane, you can drink at dressed-up cocktail bars and whisky shrines, or at tiny hole-in-the-walls masquerading as wine bars, or at a local izakaya that seats a maximum of five people, four of whom are already very much drunk, or you can forgo alcohol and instead spend the time eating and queuing up to eat and browsing used cameras, slack-jawed, and standing shoulder-to-shoulder at Mandarake to skim through manga, and taking photos of the pachinko and the people, who, by the way, are everywhere. Which is all to say: I don’t fancy cities, I don’t like skyscraper skylines, I don’t like masses of people, but I am absolutely addicted to Tokyo. There’s nothing like it.

So, anyway, it’s an impossible task to summarize Tokyo. I’m nowhere close to scraping the surface. But here’s what we’ll do. This is a summary of my personal must-visit spots, you can Ctrl+F to read more about each of them below. The full post also covers other spots that may be worth visiting. Read to find out, I suppose!

Last update (9 Jan 2024): 

The Takeaway (kind-of in order of must-go):

• Kappo Sanoya (sublime kappo. Every dish a hit. Sake pairing sensational, brought it to the next level)
• Gracia (fantastic tasting menu)
• Konjiki Hototogisu (best ramen ever for me. Clam based soup)
• Kagari echika fit ramen (top 3 ramen spot for me. Top-tier chicken ramen)
• Terunari (possibly my favorite food experience in Tokyo. Modern kaiseki at a bargain price. Best to book online beforehand)
• Bar Unknown
• The Hisaka Bar
• Mantensushi Marunouchi (some of my favorite sushi ever are from here. Modulation of temperature of the rice is so cool. Recommended to book online for dinner) 
• Ten To Sen
• Mantensushi Nihonbashi (possibly even better that the Marunouchi branch, at least the time I went. Lovely pieces. Though lacks the variety of the temperature modulation)
• Bar Ishinohana (my favorite bar in Tokyo)
• ENEKO (very unique experience, some very good dishes. Best to book online beforehand)
• Savoy Azabu-Juban (‘24 update: still good but nowhere near as good as before. I wonder what changed. best pizza in the world. Warning: it’ll ruin you. Pizza in Malaysia in comparison isn’t just in a different league, they aren’t even playing the same game)
• Gyukatsu Motomura (‘24 update: a lot more touristy now, with loads of branches. Still good though, but maybe not as shocking as the first time. Revelatory gyukatsu, prepare for crazy queues)
• Nata de Cristiano (perfect Portugese tarts. Take away only)
• Bear Pond Espresso
• Standing Sushi Bar, Shibuya (good sushi for cheap. Casual setting, and it’s a standing sushi bar! You kind of have to try it, don’t you)
• Glitch Coffee (best coffee in town)
• Bonjour Records (records, clothes, coffee. Good coffee)
• Ita Soba (best soba I’ve had, not too expensive)
• Torikizoku (cheap but very good yakitori)
• Jinroku (izakaya near Fuglen, Monocle etc)
• 麺屋 みちしるべ (Menya Michishirube) (great tonkotsu-style ramen)
• Kuriya Kashi Kurogi (warabi mochi is incredible, but expensive)
• Seirinkan (original bad boy of the pizza scene)
• Tsukiji Eel nisshin tasuke (great value eel if you’re in Tsukiji market)
• Chuuka Soba Tomita (a living legend dishes out a legendary bowl, but it’s more cerebral than enjoyable. Definitely not recommended for ramen beginners)
• Nakajima (go for the lunch sardine set – Yanagawa Nabe, enjoyable and comforting)
• 4/4 Coffee (good long black, heard the hand drip is great)

Bonjour Records is such a crazy dope store. Records, brilliant music played loud enough without being obnoxiously so. Brilliant books and zines. Vinyls, casettes, CDs. Clothes. And a coffee stand. Amazing stuff really. The vibe is exquisite. Slightly sub culture and street without being gaudy garbage like Supreme, namean. Y 302 for Guatemala pourover. Yeah I’m paying that price any day sir. Not the most refined pour but it’s very nice regardless. About the same or better than the one I had at Onibus. Goes on the list of must visit stores.

Kamasi Washington to Lana del Rey to Harriet Brown, the music here is exquisite. I find it difficult to even leave. What a place. So good. Listening to killer tracks properly played out loud while reading the Monocle Guide to Cosy Homes and sipping on a filter. Bliss.

Seirinkan
– what a crazy looking place. In a good way. Bgm is Beatles. Winding stairs up to multiple floors below and above. Pizza itself is…interesting, and great. Two types only. Very Neapolitan style in a way: watery-ish sauce, slightly soggy base, not sliced. The cornicione is killer. It’s not Pizza Savoy but god damn is it a million times better than Dihyang.

Shout out to Brooch – one of the best used stores so far. Fantastic selection and very reasonable prices. Bought a Givenchy sweater there.

Torikizoku

Cheap Y 321-a-skewer yakitori that beats almost everything in Malaysia (apart from Palillos). It’s a damn chain but God is it good. Keep the skewers and beer flowing (the beer goes for the same price too). Soft bones are great, pretty much everything is good. Come hungry, and come with friends. Thanks again, Ken, Ryan.

麺屋 みちしるべ (Menya Michishirube)

If you like tonkotsu, come here. Great broth. Noodles squiggly and stunning. Tsukemen perhaps even better. Simple joys in life.

Also, you know how Fukuoka is the birthplace of tonkotsu etc? Yeah, well, this place beats every tonkotsu there hands-down. So good.

Gohanya isshin daikan-yama

Right underneath some police box thing. Place looks ridiculously nice for lunch sets that start at 950 and top out at 1890. Most are 1300. This stupid gaijin went for 1.8k of course. And a tiny Kirin draft for 400 which is a rip-off for the size. At least the place is great! Dimly lit, but not too dim. Frank Socolow (sp?) plays in the background, amidst other great jazz tunes.

The rice is very good. But honestly Menya Hanabi in Malaysia has really great rice – probably even better than this one here. Not that this place is too far off. Nice bite, almost as good as Onigiri Bongo’s rice.

Sashimi : the maguro is great. Only slightly less fatty than Yamazaki’s. Nice resistance and creaminess to the salmon too. Lovely. Tempura good but a bit oily. Doesn’t compare to proper tempura spots like Tempura Tenko at Fukuoka or even Tempura Kohaku in Singapore. Still pleasurable though.

Avoid the Kirin draft. Tiny size. At least it’s not swill like Carlsberg and Tiger though, very very drinkable. Basically not the greatest food in the world. But atmosphere is stunning for the cheap prices.

Kagari echika fit ramen

Close to a religious experience. The tori paitan soba is just..something else.

Where to even begin with this ramen? I would be ecstatic if I could cycle between this and Afuri every other day. It’s an incredibly creamy chicken broth that isn’t overly oily and fatty. It’s rich in all the right ways. It’s silky. Luxurious. And the chicken breast is very good though I wish it was seared a bit for some textural contrast – but I’m nitpicking the best chicken breasts I’ve ever had. And it looks stunning for a sub 1k bowl of ramen. It matches the place itself – a super comfy and cramped oasis that shutters off the sounds of the world outside apart from the soft rumbling of the train overhead and the pitter patter of feet. It only sits a few people (of course), so queue up and wait outside. It’s worth it.

I want to eat this out forever until I get lockjaw, but even the creamiest of things come to an end eventually, and so this gluttonous slob mulched its way back home after (with a quick onigiri pit stop at Onigiri Bongo along the way).

Note: the rice with raw egg is good too. The egg is good, yeah, but the rice is excellent. Would love to try the risotto next time.

Kuriya Kashi Kurogi
A must-try but it’s a bit too pricey for multiple return visits, in my humble wallet’s opinion. Warabi mochi set is Y 2700, for instance.

But, hey, it’s in a gorgeous, gorgeous spot inside a campus. Beautiful layered roof and wall. Small indoor seating. Very comfy. Much larger space outside, which I bet is great during spring and summer.

The set comes with filter coffee (delicate, sweet, but decent body to it too), and some jelly thing (deliciously savoury and umami). The mochi itself is layered around daintily like iceberg…pebbles on a gorgeous lake. With pink flowers on the water. Presentation is top top notch. Very noice.

The texture of the mochi itself is incredible too. Not just soft and sticky but luxuriously, lusciously layered. Really stumped how to describe the texture but it’s a singular experience. Much more jelly-like than regular mochi but still retains a satisfying bite and the underlying flavour bursting through right at the end. Both kinako taste markedly different but both are great complements.

What a place! Expensive, very expensive, but very good.

ENEKO
What a sublime experience.

Food generally all stellar except for the doneness of the duck. And the desserts and petit four were too sweet for me, but that’s personal preference. Excellent service too. Y 10,692 including the meme egg, which is a bargain.

First, I started off with a picnic in a greenhouse garden. Crazy stuff in test tubes, lots of pruned plants and stuff to smell and touch and uh photograph. Some lubrication to start with. Then the picnic basket: a delicious crunchy brioche with mild-tasting unagi inside and punchy anchovy cream, foie gras with orange (this shit is wild. Foie gras and orange is a GENIUS combo), and a…kaipiritxa? Cherry tomato looking thang, with wine inside. Intense, sour, boozy, sweet, lovely. Spanish bloke walked me through the entire thing, then escorted me up to the dining area upstairs. Very much felt like walking from a garden up to a dining hall.

Truffled egg add-on: For an additional Y 1500! Not really worth it, but it’s a cool experience. Part of the yolk is removed and replaced with truffle injection.

Starter: Basque-style mushrooms, sliced super fine. Great texture, great technique, but so-so taste-wise. Good, not amazing. The tempura yolk is the star imo. Light tempura, and the yolk (removed from the truffled egg!) explodes in the mouth. Gorgeous. Take me back, please.

Fish: Bacon-rolled monkfish fillet, roasted red peppers sauce, pickled grapes. The bacon wrap is super thin! Almost looks like the skin of the fish itself, and feels like it (super light and crispy). Monkfish was perfect. Texture almost like scallops. Can taste the individual strands of the meat as it flakes away in the mouth. Moist as anything.

Meat: Charcoal-grilled duck breast, apple, basil, served on a very warm (nice!) marble (probably not?) plate. Duck unfortunately quite chewy. Lots of flavour while you chew away, gamey, bits of smoke, but the parts in the middle are just a bit too tough on the old jaws. Great with the sauces though – basil sauce, apple puree give the dish a sparkling new layer of flavours.

Dessert: Strawberries and roses. Comes with coffee (below-average espresso). The dessert was very interesting. Marshmallow base. Tastes more like super soft foam. But somehow both rose and strawberry flavours inside! Wild. Too sweet for me (y’know I like Sitka-style desserts), but wild.

Petit four: Basil and yogurt lollipop (it’s a shell! The shell cracks apart. Very cool. And tasty. Waitress gave me a second helping!). Raspberry and mint macaron (actually prefer the macarons from Tiny Temptress last time lol). Berry and pepper jelly (could do with more pepper, super sweet). Red wine bonbon (meh).

So, yeah, not the best ending. But a great meal nonetheless. And a great price imo.

Mantensushi Marunouchi

It’s a magical place. It really is.

Y6k for the dinner omakase is a crazy good bargain. You get 27 different dishes and yes, that’s not a typo. Nice, cozy space, everything comes out at a fast pace (but far from Jiro-style fast) over the 70-80 minutes meal, and there’s notably less of an emphasis on ebb and flow of flavours that you’d expect from the more premium, top-tier omakase courses. But it’s Y6k, so who gives a shit? The sushi is fantastic. The interplay of temperatures is stunning. Selected dishes below.

Snapper: crazy sweet fish. Paired with very very warm sushi rice. Surprising. Delicious. Great start.

Unknown drink: looks like diluted cum. Salty and warm. Nice.

Octopus sashimi: interesting. Salty, squiggly.

Sawada (spanish mackerel): skin delicately fired up. Wonderful. Just wonderful. The smokiness danced around the tongue and lingered for the rest of the Tokyo trip.

Saba: initially alright, just alright. Then the oil starts coming through slowly at first, then all at once, like a gushing oil well. Delicious. The saba itself is warmer than the snapper, and the rice is correspondingly less warm here. Interesting!

Tofu: Not jiggly, quite firm outside. Bite in, though, and it’s an explosion. Softer and creamier than cream cheese. Amazing. Incredible. In the note book, I just wrote: “Amazing!” five times, so yeah

Oysters: Intense. Briny. Sweet. Mouthwateringly good.

Enoki sushi: enoki colder than saba, so the temperature of the rice hikes up once again. Very warm, more vinegary.

Mentaiko: faintly spicy with wasabi, then the beads of roe explode into a million constituents in the mouth. Texturally, a goddamn delight. So satisfying. Better than the mentaiko in Fukuoka

Red snapper (kinmedai): Slightly too heavy-handed on the wasabi but still a good piece. The last time I was at Oribe, Nao-san served a better kinmedai though. This piece is a bit less sweet and bold.

Steamed egg: temperature too hot to eat straight away. Egg was alright. But the crab meat inside was great! Lots and lots of it. Delicate but held together enough to feel the chunks and chunks of crab.

Abalone sashimi: Immediate top note of yuzu opens up into an earthy mushroom umami I’ve never really associated with abalone. Firm texture, and each bite releases more earthiness. Wow!

Shirako (milt): Hey, isn’t this sperm? Milky, creamy.

Shrimp: warmest rice yet. Very very warm. The shrimp bursts into a creamy explosion but I’ve had sweeter shrimps before. Rice is the star.

Akami: Has to be the most flavourful lean tuna I’ve ever had. Gives way willingly to the bite, but has such a depth of flavour.

Otoro: Slightly, delicately warm rice. Super super fatty, melting, glistening, rich, oily beast of a fish slice. Best tuna I’ve ever had, hands down.

Ikura roe on rice: ikura itself not too cold, which is nice. Taste-wise, the Hokkaido Izakaya in Singapore still has the best ikura I’ve ever tasted.

Uni from Hokkaido: pretty good, but sadly uni was a bit too cold. Not the best I’ve had.

Tamago: pretty good. Layered nicely. About on par with Sourakuya at its peak, though less sweet.

Tiny clam soup: warm, sweet, fantastic. So satisfying. Vaguely tastes of sake at the back end.

Sea eel (anago): cold rice because…it’s aburi anago! Very very light smoke right at the back end but the juxtaposition of warm, almost hot, anago with cold rice is so good.

Tuna onions rice roll: Mmmm warm rice, chopped tuna, onions. Onion lingers a bit too much at the end but still very very good!

Sole strawberry as the ending! Perfect sweetness, IMO. Barely any tartness, just there at the back end. Better dessert than Eneko’s sweet stuff, lol.

Bar Orchard
Place feels like a dream, walking in. Size-wise, it’s about the size of Omakase. Bar counter is lovely. Lots of cool stuff and the ‘menu’ are the fruits.

Apple base first – very good. Pulpy apple. Bit of vodka flowing here and there. “Medium level” alcohol is surprisingly boozy. Egg white. Tasty, very tasty.

Persimmon – super sweet, fleshy. Delicious. I love persimmon. Comes with liquid nitrogen matcha liqueur (Wow! Sweet, bitter, delicate). Scoop the matcha and sip the persimmon and white wine. Sublime. Tasty, boozy, not too sweet.

Red pepper base – blowtorched bacon on top. Tastes almost like bak kwa without the sweetness. 7-spice etc, so it makes sense. Super foamy drink. Intense body and a fresh, spicy pepperiness. Bit of black pepper on the foam too. Bright and punchy.

Overall thoughts? Generally very good, but also overpriced. Y1000 cover charge (ouch). Total bill of Y7000 (insane). Preferred Bar Ishinohana.

Tompachitei @ Ueno

Katsuraisu for weekday lunches. 900 gets you pickles rice katsu etc. 5 counter seats and 4 tables. So you queue outside quite long lor. Tokyo like that lor. Super cozy homely feel inside. Run by an old couple.

Prefer the cabbage to maisen. Katsu is very good. Understandably the pork itself not as good cut as maisen. Less rich and deep in flavour. Then again this isn’t their recommended rosekatsu. It’s just the cheap lunch cut. Half the price. I really like the miso soup and the silky tofu. I love the homely feel of the place. I love that two people run everything. The chef actually leaves the counter to come and serve you. I love the crunchy crust, can’t fault that either. It’s just the inferior pork cut that lets it down a bit. I have no doubt their rosekatsu will be killer though.

Kagura (if you must eat sushi in Tsukiji, eat this)

Notes on Kagura in Tsukiji (outer market). Also, shout-out to the amazing grilled eel on a skewer (up to Y200 from 100, but it’s still 💯 to me) and the beef dumplings in the outer market. Y’all the real champs to this penny-pinching pauper.

But hey what’s Tsukiji without a sushi set or two. Kagura was my first stop before Yamazaki, and it took first spot in my hearttu. It’s a ramshackle hole in the wall, with vinyl curtains to keep out the winter chill (and cast a red hue over all the photos). There’s a bit of jazz in the background, like basically everywhere in Tokyo. The chef is super friendly. Sit by the counter if you can, there are only two small seats. Get any set that has a good mix of the usual nigiri and their aburi (grilled) specialties. Rice is generally alright here though would prefer a more vinegary style. Love the amount of wasabi though, perfectly balanced for each piece. The scallops? Stunning. Smooth, gentle, tender, ridiculously fresh.

And the whole course goes that way, pretty much. The shrimp, the tuna (even the least fatty cut feels absolutely infused with a rich fatty mouthfeel), the uni (incredibly rich and creamy without being overwhelmingly salty), and then there’s the grilled boys. All the seared stuff is on some nother other shit. The grilled char is like a flavour bomb overwhelming the senses. Gotta try this stuff. Only downer is the rice (not the best), the tamago (there are a lot of better ones around) and the negishio (ok ok la). Still a must visit though imo.

Tsuta

8.15am on a Thursday in winter, CNY eve. Waltzed in with no queue to collect the ticket I wanted: a 3pm slot. Can we all agree that the queue system is weird af though. You queue up then you have to go in and use the vending machine to order then give your ticket then get a card thing then go back in line.

Shoyu soba with chashu and wanton: Wanton sucks. Noodles soft and mediocre.

Chashu very soft and thin. Bit like bacon and ham in a way. Nice. The soup is good though, have to admit. Much better than the shoyu at tsuta Singapore. And strangely enough much less salty. Almost like two completely different bowls really. Really like the broth. It’s not top tier but it’s very good. Wouldn’t queue up for it again.

Ichiran @ Ueno

You know what, the Ichiran here was better than the Ichiran in Fukuoka. And it’s 24/7, which is great. Also, it’s definitely not as isolation chamber as you might think. If anything, it gets a bit noisier / more distracting than the regular ramen spots, since it’s so small and cramped.

Broth: good. Balanced. About the same level as the broth at Haneda Airport, which is to say it’s pretty good. Kind of around-ish the same level as Menya Shi Shi Do’s black garlic (Kuro) in KL. The chili doesn’t do much for me. 

Pork: decent, nothing to shout about. Better than some of the stuff in Fukuoka, worse than some of the spots in KL. Salted soft-boiled egg: alright. Can skip and spring for kaedama (extra noodles) instead. Noodles: good! The ones I had here were much better than the noods at Ichiran Fukuoka. Firm, very firm, and tasty. 

Best ramen? Of course not. But it’s a fun experience and the convenient times are commendable. Sometimes you want a bowl after and before 11 and nowhere is open. Plus them noodles are good. And Ueno is denim central*. So hell yeah I would return if I was in the area. 

* Don’t miss out on the denim stores in Ueno. Lots of next-level stuff around. Area feels a bit like Petaling Street collided with Shibuya, but if you’re focused on your Barbour or your Momotaro, there’s really no point buying from anywhere else. Place is crazy. 

In particular, check out Hinoya. Super knowledgeable and friendly staff. Recommended and let me try on all sorts of jeans: Momotaro, PBJs, etc. Believe it or not, I actually ended up with their house brand collab w Warehouse. Loved (and still love!) the slubbiness. 

Next level customer service, really. Dude gave me a bunch of different jean releases to look up online and jizz at afterwards. 

Tsukiji Eel nisshin tasuke @ Tsukiji market- fucking good. Blows away the tare Unagi in Malaysia easily. 200Y a skewer is a bargain but get the bowls for even better value. Tempted to get more.

If you’re still at Tsukiji, get the Yoshizawa Shoten (Matsuzaka minced beef cake). This is killer. Huge huge matsuzaka minced beef. Delicious dumpling. Really massive, you have to get it. Nice and fatty and meaty too. Lovely.

Yamazaki @ Tsukiji

Place is like 4 times bigger than kagura. Still small but doesn’t look as painfully cramped and rushed as Dai. And a queue of Chinese and white tourists is so off-putting. Fuck that. Worth getting omakase here for 5k? Maybe. Think kagura is a better bit though. Rice a bit grainier too compared to kagura.

Tamago here much better than kagura. Really top tier this one. So good. Surf clam good. Nice sweetness to it. Scallop very good too. 

Salmon is salmon. Good salmon but still. Prefer grilled. Squid. Interestingly textured. Love the chew and almost sliminess. In a good way. Snow crab. It’s okay. Shrimps. Crazy sweet. Builds on the slimy squid

Tuna. Not bad. Also fatty but not as good as kagura. Salmon roe wew salty. Not as good as the Hokkaido ikura in Singapore eh.

Anyway overall good but prefer kagura. The aburi there is great and the normal nigiri solid too. Rice here a bit disappointing. Super friendly chefs though. And they speak English well. Worth a visit if you have to but would return to kagura instead. Dai and daiwa ew. Those queues. Those tourists. No thanks. Yeah I dunno. If youre coming to tsukiji I would say hit up that amazing eel and matsasuka dumpling and kagura at the outer market. Then head to a random sushi place slightly off from the Dai alley in the inner market (couple of steps away into another alley and you can see spots that actual locals are at). Doubt there’ll be a drastic difference in quality plus you don’t get the off-putting tourists vibe. You’ll be the offputting tourist instead! Just keep chanting sumimasen and apologize for your intrusion and existence etc.

Onigiri bongo
Hey, a specialist onigiri spot!

Great rice. Fillings bit salty. Nice big portion. Overall pretty nice. A step above the typical konbini onigiri, which is by no means bad anyway. 

Maisen

The super hot towel feels wonderful in winter.

Radish appetizer a bit too strong, until you add the yuzu soy. Lifts it up a bit. The tea is very good.

The pork itself is very good. Fatty but nice bite. Good crust. Essentially, it’s slightly better than the best tonkatsu I’ve ever had in KL – but the differential is not that big vs KL’s offerings (as compared to the difference when it comes to ramen, sushi etc). It’s not massively better. FOr the price, wouldn’t really bother returning. Would go to the standing sushi bar nearby AND the gyukatsu place for the same total bill. 

Gyukatsu Motomura – original location

Shit on me, why is this so goddamn satisfying. Queued for close to 2 hours in the cold, and every second was worth it. Tender, succulent beef inside, perfect crust outside, perfect setting etc etc. I don’t know, man. It just hit the spot so well.

Chuuka Soba Tomita

The legend. Honestly, too hardcore and experimental to be really enjoyable. Like post-modern art and avant garde noise music, you kind of have to appreciate the history leading up to the movement to “get” the movement. You have to know what it’s upending, after all. Here, every component of a typical tsukemen is taken to its logical extreme.

Noodles – you like them chewy? Of course you do. Soft, soggy ramen noodles is a fucking travesty (ahem, unless you’re Hototogisu). Malaysian Chinese love their flaccid, limpdick noods, but most good ramen temples in Tokyo are going to be serving up the hard stuff. Tomita goes 3 to 4 steps further and churns out the chewiest, toughest noodles you’ll ever have. It’s a struggle, a full-on battle, with each bite. And to give it extra slurpiness and make it more of a challenge, the noodles are also extremely long.

Broth – thick, beyond goopy, and extremely salty. It’s almost all about texture here. It’s slimy, thick like pulped down sardines, it sticks to the noodles and your mouth, it barely moves in the bowl.

Pork – varied in doneness. Goes from barely cooked to deliciously blowtorched.

In summary? It’s a top 10 bowl in terms of how much I enjoyed it, but boy was it a cerebral struggle to enjoy. It’s not easily accessible, that’s for sure.

Fuglen

Legit beautiful place. But way too packed with tourists taking photos. Place was ruined for me, tbh. Coffee alright.

Nata de Cristiano

Perfection, basically. 

Terunari
Y 6500 is an insanely good bargain. I’m 100% penciling Terunari down for every single Tokyo trip from now on. Possibly the most enjoyable experience I’ve had in Tokyo.

Beautiful bar counter, right up next to the young chefs. Gorgeous open kitchen. Love, love, love it. Right up next to the action. And the seating is super comfortable (the leg support, the railing etc etc). Bar counter seating is a must if you’re not in a large group, and the service is beyond top notch (kept chatting with the chefs, main chef exchanged a few food and drink recommendations, insisted on taking photos together etc).

Okay, let’s go step by step.

Appetizer: stir-fried shrimps from Kochi. Juicy, plump, but with a gentle touch of smoke. Tiny egg yolk. Delicious start.

Congealed puffer fish: welp, does nothing for me. Fish in jelly. But nice snappy, crunchy cucumber slices.

Tuna: mediocre. Squid: the lemon really steps up the broiled white squid to another level. Bright without being sour, it lets the wisps of smoke slowly seep in while eating. Very subtle but incredibly rewarding.

Egg custard: very watery. Smells amazing. Tastes stunning. Like essence of beef. Is this boiled down beef sinew? Very oily, meaty, umami. Insane. It’s more like drinking beef consomme with floating bits of egg. Like a sort of inverted chawanmushi. The egg is not the focus, it’s there to add texture – and they feel like light floating icebergs that dissolve against the tongue. Easily my favourite chawanmushi ever by far.

Chicken liver mousse sandwich: excellent. Super light cracker biscuit shell – delicate, slightly sweet. Rich, cold liver with bits of very thinly diced up sour pickles. Best liver dish I’ve ever had. Flower has a very mild spiciness to it. Sweet potato chips don’t add much but sort of echo the sweetness of the liver shell. Pate itself so pink it looks like strawberry ice cream. Remarkable dish.

Kochi yellowtail, lightly deep fried. Served in a soup. Sweet fish. Firm flesh. Not bad.

Yamagata roasted pig is the main dish, and what a main dish. Fantastic pork. Slightly pink, slightly resistive, but not too chewy. Each bite bursts with an almost agonizing crescendo of flavour. Unabashedly porky. Sherry vinegar reduction. Only sore point is the meh salad (and the chef insisted it’s a “taste-good salad”!). Can sub out meat for the more expensive stuff (eg. +Y800 for Hungarian duck, +Y800 for Ezo dear, +Y1k for ostrich, +Y1.2k for wagyu – and the wagyu looks phenomenal). 

Sawanoi sake: added this on, of course. Haven’t had any sake I’ve fancied before, but this was fantastic. Really the best by far. Mild initial nose, mild initial taste. Gradually sweetens in the mouth then blooms with light notes of subtle spiciness as it warms. Sharp and spicy towards the end. 

Rice with bamboo shoots, baked chicken. Love watching them prepare the claypot and rush it to the stove. Tastes like a posh, polished claypot rice! Lovely smell. Glistening oily rice. Chicken bits have the faintest hint of charring from the blowtorch. Toasted sesame seeds. Heavenly. Eat 3 bowls of it and still have enough to pack back for the next morning’s breakfast.

Miso soup with aka dashi was meh. Mantensushi still has the best.

Dessert: tea and new hand towel first, and damn the tea is delish. Dessert: strawberry and mint jelly. Looks great. Tastes great. Better than Eneko’s desserts. 

ALSO there are more desserts? Meme-y Pocky stick with callebaut ruby chocolate. Milk ice cream. Very creamy. Taken with the cold cheesecake and Japanese orange? Delicious and decadent.

Random wine bar

Sorry, I forgot the name. But I loved the place. Tiny space, fits about 6 people at most. Super comfortable bar seats. Super chill vibes. 

Date No Gyutan 

Actually pretty damn good curry rice. The beef was flank – moderately tough but plenty of flavour. Lots of depth in the curry itself. And very nice salad.

Ita Soba @ Ebisu

What a great place. Sick jazz. 2 super long huge tables. Sesame cold dipping sauce so creamy, so good. Soba itself is perfection. Hard and mean to the bite. Great, great soba. 

Switch Coffee

Lovely small cafe. Great espresso.

Jinroku

Great izakaya near Fuglen, Monocle etc. Cover charge, but it gets you very tasty stuff (we had lovely oden, some of the best I’ve ever had). Great music played from CDs. Love the vibe. Goes from old school R&B to jazz to chill trip-hop to the entirety of Snail Mail’s album. 

Tuna sashimi: lovely, huge chunks, very buttery. Light hand on the wasabi sauce. So creamy and soft. Almost, almost as tasty as Mantensushi! Which means it’s a damn sight better than anything in KL.

Eggplant: smells captivating. Tastes brilliant. Lovely bits of char, not too slimy, firm flesh. Smoky and firm, goddamn. Delicious.

Deep fried lotus root: mediocre batter but the lotus root itself very very crunchy and juicy.

Karaage: Batter seasoned perfectly. Juicy and tender inside. Also, on a separate note, Family Mart does some damn fine karaage. Particularly like the boneless spicy one.

Octopus, tomatoes, bell pepper, broccoli, garlic, cheese: so good I almost cried. No joke. So satisfying. Home-cooked-tasting in the best possible way. Just an absolute bomb of flavours and a perfect way to end the meal.

Bar Ishinohana

Long bar counter seats about 12 people comfortably, with space for another 5-6 at the back. Lovely space. Better than Bar Orchard, probably my fave bar so far in Tokyo. Very much has the heart and soul of Bar Shake in KL, but with the bells and whistles of Omakase+Appreciate.

Strawberry pistachio Alexander: strawberry from Chiba. Strong nose of pistachio, very nutty and robust. Pulpy strawberry. Milkshake-like consistency. Very enjoyable.

Strawberry earl grey collins: super refreshing, not too sweet. Very well balanced.

Kiwi x Lavender Martin: kiwi from Nagano. Very tart-tasting, but addicted to the mouthfeel of the fruit pulp. Housemade lavender-infused gin. Fresh pineapple in there too, and housemade honey syrup. What a drink.

Claudia: rum, pineapple, ground peppers, caramel syrup, so good.

I’m picky with cocktails. Most place in KL just throw some alcohol together with a shopping list of other ingredients and try to add a ‘twist’ to it that sounds good on the menu. Give me simple stuff done right, please.

Oribe: beefeater, matcha, milk, wasabon sugar, gold powder. Gorgeous glass befitting of a gorgeous drink. Lovely fresh milk. It’s like matcha with excellent cold milk. So tasty. Beefeater just sort of rounds out the back end of the drink – really just feels like you’re drinking the tastiest matcha with milk ever.

Espresso whisky, cacao liqueur: very nice but boy oh boy does it caffeinate you up.

Larceny bourbon (92 proof), Pernod absinthe, etc (custom off-menu): almost singed my eyebrows off. Super strong. Crazy alcohol level. But what a way to end. A real uppercut of a drink.

Glitch Coffee

Best damn coffee around. End of.

Konjiki Hototogisu

Number one. The best ramen I’ve had. 90 mins wait and it’s worth it. Noodles soft but for once, it actually makes sense to be soft here. I’ve always wanted the firmest, hardest noodles possible, but the soft noods belong to this bowl. They fit perfectly with the amazing clam soup. Super clammy, super delicious shoyu. Pork brilliant too. Layers of flavour everywhere. Orgasmic. The shio is intense too, perhaps even better somehow. Insane bowls.

Savoy Azabu-Juban 

Even if the pizza was mediocre, I’d come here over and over again if I could. The place is amazing. But of course the pizza isn’t mediocre. It’s unforgettable.

Seirinkan deservedly gets all the plaudits – Susuma Kakinuma is the Holy Father of the Tokyo pizza scene and was a springboard for some of the best pizzerias in town. They all trace their roots back to the master. As does Savoy Azabu-Juban.

So, yes, Seirinkan deserves all the plaudits, but Savoy Azabu-Juban is pretty much a case of the student surpassing the master.

There’s a quadrant that seats about 8 people, all of us bunched up around and facing the massive wood-fired oven, with the chips and blocks lined up neatly under the furnace. You can feel the waves of heat immediately as you walk in. The dough is fingered gently, the rich red tomato spooned around it. You hear the spit and snarl of the wood, and watch as the maestro shaves away at a head of garlic, letting it fall liberally on the pizza. Surely it’s too much garlic? Well. Of course it isn’t.

The pizza goes in, some wood chips are thrown in to flare up the fire, and barely a minute later, your pizza is in front of you. 

The dough is…magical. Transformative. Orgasmic, even. It’s crispy and smoky and slightly, just very slightly, pleasantly bitter and acrid on the outside. Bite in and it explodes with air pockets of smoke and sea salt. It’s chewy, springy, bouncy, elastic, chewy, fluffy, buzzing with olive oil, chewy, and the gently pulsating shaved garlic is almost fully melted and embedded into the dough. It’s insane how good it is. It’s almost too good. Superlatives float gently to the surface, buffeted by the digesting dough, and they each melt away against the searing reality of the meal.

There’s really no way to explain the experience of the place. The pizzas are magical, the jazz dances around the spitting of the fire, the boys running the place are hilarious, the atmosphere is warm and jovial and…unforgettable.

There are only two pizzas on the menu. Both are sublime and beyond the bounds of what I previously thought possible. 

Passage Coffee

Along a very long strip mall-ish set of roads. Lovely space, bright and pretty spacious for Tokyo. Good hand drip, enjoyable. Drinkable. Comfortable, chill spot.

4/4 Coffee

Lovely place near Shinjuku-Sanchome station. Cool, small spot. Long black delicious. Lovely smell, cakes look great, heard hand drip great too. The sort of place you wish you could get your daily coffee from.

Nakajima

Michelin star spot that is famous for doing sardine stuff for lunch. Cute concept.

Y900 for the yanagawa nabe set. Cool place. Very spacious and comfortable for a basement spot. Sardines are big. Taste-wise, no ‘wow’ factor but tastes like the best home-cooked food ever. Deep fried sardines are lovely. 

Overall: sweet, warming, comforting. 

And of course there are about a billion or so other places I haven’t tried out yet in Tokyo. If you’re there, try out some of these and let me know how they go. I’m told they’re good. And of course, it’s not my actual exhaustive to-go list, that one is a good deal more extensive.

• Toritsune Shizendo (Y1-2k oyakodon lunch set, Michelin bib gourmand)
• Narikura (one of the best tonkatsu)
• Kintoki (tantanmen, great chicken ramen) (1-2-7, Tokyo, Nerima-ku, Kotakecho 1-2-7) (nearest station: Ekoda) (Open 11-2pm; 5.30-8.30pm; closed Mon & Tue)
• Taishoken ramen (Tsukemen)
• Nikunchu (yakiniku – tenderloin, daily offal)
• Isshin (Asakusa) – 1 michelin. Lunch sets start at Y 6000
• Sushi Kanesaka – 1 michelin. Lunch starts at Y 5000
• Pizza Strada (great pizza, dude moved to Savoy though)
• Pizza Studio Tamaki (potentially better than Savoy?) (must-order lemonade too)
• Pizza Dada (great pizza too)
• Yakitori Ebisu Nishi-Ogikubo (Y 100 Yakitori which are all good)
• Mugitooribu in Ginza (ramen – chicken broth, dashi, clam)
• Mensho Tokyo @ Kasuga (ramen – lamb bone soup)
• Fuunji (tsukemen – get nami (normal))
• Den
• Zuisetsu @ Setagaya (1 Michelin star) (set lunch from Y1620) (Cantonese food w Jap flair)
• Toyoken (expensive black curry – Matsuzaka wagyu beef, cooked for a month)
• Sushi Ryusuke (Y5000 for 10-piece nigiri lunch set)
• Yoshino Sushi Honten (Y2200 lunch set for 8 pieces)
• Tateru Yoshino Ginza (2 michelin star French joint, about 13k for lunch)
• Path @ Shibuya (dutch pancake with ham, wait 8am)
• Utsura Utsura @ Shibuya (hot sake, great otoshi)
• Forrester @ Nakameguro (Jap curry and 100 types of gin)
• Cocktail Works Jinbocho (great cocktails, e.g. matcha chai latte, opens 11.30am)
• Marugo Tokyo for tabi boots
• Tempura Nakayama (black tendon) @ Nihonbashi
• Yoroniku Ebisu (one of the highest rated restaurants on Tabelog, around Y10k, foreigners not allowed to make reservation. Must arrive and wait in line after 9pm. Last order 11pm. 150-0013 Tokyo, Shibuya, Ebisu, 1 Chome−11−5 GEMS 8F (2min walk from JR Yamanote Line or Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line Ebisu Station)(5:00 pm – 12:00 am
  – Nakiryu ramen (Y1000) (1 Michelin star) (dandanmen is great but long line) (queue up 1 hr before opening time)
  – Tamarawai (Good soba miso and yuba (tofu skin). Doesn’t take reservations)
  – Tai Shio Soba Touka (top Shio)
  – Muginae (Tsukemen) (3rd highest in Tabelog)
  – Menya Ishin (near Meguro) (Michelin bib gourmand) (yuzushio special for Y 1100)
  – Menson Rage (hidden gem, far away. Shoyu and mazesoba both great)
  – Mengyo (ramen broth from seabream and chicken, pork smoked with cherry wood)
  – Muginae (6 types of shoyu in broth, buckwheat noodles)
  – Kanda Matsuya (Best soba?)
  – Ibuki (dried sardines in broth)
  – Shichisai (order the Kitakata Niku-soba – Niboshi – one of the best noodles around) (2-13-2, Hatchobori, Chuo-ku) (11am-3.30pm; 5.30-9pm everyday)
  – Naniwaya (original taiyaki) (1-8-14 Azabu-Juban, Minato-ku)
  – Ippodo Tea (#1 ranked tea room in Tokyo)
  – Rokurinsha amazing tsukemen opens at 7.30am – ramen street at Tokyo station
  – Kajitsuen fruit parlor
  – Ahiru Store @ Shibuya, closer to Yoyogi-Koen station (natural wines by glass from Y1k upward, great breads, homemade sausages and pates) (1-19-4 Tomigaya, Shibuya-ku Tokyo) (Mon-Fri 6pm-12midnight, Sat 3pm-9pm / closed Sun) (no need reservations, but go early fam)
  – Gyoza Shack @ Setagaya (special gyoza + natural wine) (2-3-10 Sangenjaya, Setagaya-ku) (5pm-12am)

– Higashi-Mukojima Coffee-ten (coffee, great no-bake cheesecake) (1-34-7 Higashi-Mukojima, Sumida-ku – near Hikifune station) (8.30am-8pm / closed Wed)
– Good People & Good Coffee (3-4-11 Higashiyama, Meguro-ku, Tue-Fri 9am-6pm; Sat, Sun & hols 10.30am-6pm / closed Mon
– Cafe Obscura (specializes in siphon coffee) ( Setagaya-ku, Sangenjaya, 1-9-16, Tokyo)

– Gen Yamamoto (apparently a MUST GO. Also recommended by Mona so there’s that. 4 cocktail tasting menu Y 5k + Y1k cover charge 〒106-0045 Tokyo, Minato, 麻布十番1-6-4 アニバーサリービル 1F)(need to make reservations by phone though) (Tue-Sat 3pm-11pm, Sun 3pm-10pm / closed Mon)
– Beer Pub Ishii (craft beer – 3 rotating taps)
– Jazz Spot Intro (6.30pm-12am) (near Takadanobaba Station) (go Tues-Thurs for gigs)
– Intro @ Shinjuku: narrow, cramped jazz bar with live music 3-4 nights a week (jazzspot.intro.co.jp)
– Iron Fairies @ Ginza (cool vibe, great drinks, cotton candy cloud drink)
– YYG Brewery & Beer Kitchen (try the house brews at 1st floor. At 7th floor, there’s food to go with the beer – probably stick to biru eh)
– Beersaurus Ikebukuro
– Bar Ben Fiddich (Yamatoya Bldg. 9F, 1-13-7 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku) (near Shinjuku station) (6pm-3am the next day) (completely custom)

– No., Shibuya

– Beer Bar Ushitora @ Setagaya (great home craft beers, and great pub food!)
– Grandfather’s Inn, Shibuya (Flat Bld. B1F, 1-24-7 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, walking distance from Shibuya station) (vinyl, atmosphere, whiskey decently priced)
– Le Labo: Tokyo exclusive – Gaiac 10.